


New Beginnings

by lellen



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1851010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lellen/pseuds/lellen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arry (Arabella) has the chance to prove her parent she can be independent. After being given her grandparents' farm, she is told she can't sell the farm but revitalise it. If she can, her parents will buy her a place in the city. With no skills, a hint of love and a failing economy, can she impress her family? And can she learn about herself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Beginnings

Chapter One: Setting Up Shop

 

“And don’t forget, you can’t sell the farm until we give you permission!” Jack Cilicia shouted, his wife sitting in the passenger’s seat waving to their daughter. Arry nodded, smiled and waved her parents good-bye. She kept her face neutral, her mouth unmoving and unwilling to show her rage inside. It had built up ever since she’d received the news that her parents had so lovingly told her that as part of her ‘coming of age’ ritual, she needed to take pride in her family’s land. She wouldn’t have been so annoyed, had they not told her she would be given her grandparents’ farm.

“I’ll call you tonight!” She shouted back. Arry watched as the mud-caked Range Rover became smaller before she turned and faced the dirt road in front of her. Letting an annoyed huff from her lips, she slung her backpack round, grabbed the handle of her suitcase and marched on. A little dirt never hurt anyone…. Right?

 

“Arabella?” A distant voice called her but she didn’t care. At this point, she felt disgusting. A thin trail of sweat felt like it was constantly running down her back and her clothes became too stuffy for her to wear. It was only January! How did she feel this hot already?

The voice called again, and this time she stopped. Her arms were aching and there was a constant pounding in her head. What idiot was calling her? A dark green, framed vehicle was slowing as it neared her. Squinting, Arry still couldn’t make out who was in the car. She certainly didn’t recognise them from afar.

“Glad I found you.” An oldish man, with a cowboy-looking hat was her stranger. He was definitely someone that Arry had never met before.

“Great, but who are you?” She asked, her pitch was starting to increase. It often happened when she was nervous.

“Did your folks not tell you? Jack’s always forgetting things. Worse than his own father!” Arry didn’t join in with his loud laughter. Her rage was almost piling over now. The muddy walk didn’t help calm her. “Anyway, I’m Dunhill. You must be Arabella, I can tell from the family resemblance. Some people look like one side, some people look like neither, but you seem to have a good mixture of both.” Arry nodded, not caring at that moment in time. “Anyway, hop in ol’ Bessy and we’ll be in Echo Falls before you know it!”

Thanking the old man, Arry carefully threw her suitcase and backpack into the space at the back of the car before sliding in beside Dunhill. 

It was quiet journey, something Arry was thankful for. She didn’t fancy the awkward small-talk but occasionally Dunhill would make a comment and she would reply with a monosyllabic answer. Dunhill was right about being in Echo Falls before she knew it – within minutes they had driven under a wooden sign and passed some fields. All had equipment in, but no-one manning it.

Eventually they pulled up into what seemed like a cul-de-sac. Or something similar. As soon as Arry noticed Dunhill jumping out of the car, she followed. She assumed that they would be walking somewhere else but he didn’t move. Grabbing her things, she walked over to him, waiting for some sort of explanation. Looking around she was a little shocked. A couple of buildings were planted around, but none seemed to have any life to them. They’d been boarded up. Only one or two still looked as if someone was living in them.

“So, this is Echo Falls.” Arry looked around, tried to hold a poker face, and nodded. The area was sparse of life – not even wildlife was trampling on the greenery. “It looks a little empty, I know, but with you here, I’m hoping it will liven up.”

“Liven up? What does that have to do with me?” She wasn’t a miracle worker, and she wasn’t gregarious. Arry would make small talk with shop-assistants and with people in the street but she couldn’t just magically create a new town or bring people to the town.

“Did your father not explain? You’ll be helping the development of Echo Falls and bringing it to its former glory!” She didn’t have the heart to tell Dunhill that he had the wrong person. She cursed her father for giving him such high hopes. They would soon shatter. “Now, we’ll talk about that later. First we’ll do introductions to the residents who are currently here.”

Walking on another dirt path (there didn’t seem to be any roads, or at least any usable ones), they came to a house. Decorated in white and brown wood, the house seemed quaint. Arry wondered who owned such a cute house – it wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t too small either.

“This is Hana’s house, and also the general store. Any little titbits and you can get them from her.” Dunhill opened the door, Arry thanked him and ducked under his arm to enter. The exterior matched the interior: wooden floors that sparkled, a small desk with a satin sheet was in the middle of the room. Shelves lined the walls but they didn’t make the room feel too small.

“Hana?” Dunhill shouted. Arry took the time to explore this side of the house while Dunhill was grabbing the attention of the owner. She noticed a variety of seeds, all sectioned by the seasons. Old, tattered photographs in frames lined the walls. Most were of smiling people, a family Arry guessed. There was the odd photo of a beautiful landscape, somewhere exotic. 

Hearing a tapping sound, she twirled and saw an old woman hobbling towards her, Dunhill smiling next to her. “This is Arabella. Arabella, this is Hana.”

Arry smiled and walked over to greet the lady. She was becoming self-conscious of her muddy shoes sticking to the freshly cleaned floor. “Hi. Please, call me Arry.” She didn’t want to have to correct Dunhill but the name Arabella was much too posh for her. Arry was short and playful.

“I’ll try my best but I’m not great with names.” She croaked, with a twinkle in her eye. “Feel free to pop in whenever you need to buy something. The shop’s open from ten until six every day, except Sundays and Wednesdays.” Arabella nodded, smiling, before Dunhill told her that she needed to be introduced to Emma.

A short walk out of Hana’s shop, and Arry found herself standing in front of a grand house. This one was much larger, and in the corner between two pathways. One she came through, and the other looked as if it was a huge field. Instead of waiting for Dunhill, she opened the purple gate herself, trying not to ask too many questions. She was curious, but she was also exhausted. She just wanted a warm drink and somewhere comfy to sit for a few minutes.

Dunhill knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She watched as he tried the doorknob, but everything was locked. A look of despair and worry graced his face. Just as Arry was about to ask if anything was the matter, a loud voice greeted them. Happiness filled the atmosphere.

“Dunhill! What are you trying to do, break in?” Arry spied a woman, in her mid-thirties, with a bright red shit with an apron on, speeding towards them. Under her arm, she carried a box with some paper stacked on top.

“Emma!” Dunhill cried, his voice sounding more alive than his face did seconds ago. “Where have you been? You almost missed meeting Arry.”

“I was picking up parcels and sending out some of the products. I wouldn’t dream of missing our newest resident!” A large smile graced the woman’s face, showing perfect teeth. Secretly, Arry envied her. Her teeth may have been white, but the bottoms were crooked. She wondered if anyone would point them out. It wouldn’t have been a surprise, her mother’s friends liked to point out how they should have paid an extortionate amount of money to have them fixed. Arry refused. “So this is Arry?”

“Yep, this is she.” Arry held out her hand, hoping for a handshake. It was welcomed, and a yellow, plastic hand covered her own.

“Well, it’s lovely to meet you. Feel free to use the shipping bin that’s in front of the house. Just stick your products in a box, label how much is in there and I’ll send it off and do the hard part for you. Hopefully you’ll earn lots of money this way. Oh, and in case you didn’t catch Dunhill screaming my name, I’m Emma.” Her smile didn’t break and again, Dunhill rushed them on. Bidding goodbye to Emma, Arry wondered who Dunhill would introduce her to next. There didn’t seem to be that many people.

“Now, I would introduce you to Neil but unfortunately, he’s out of town and won’t be back for another few days. But don’t worry, he’s a lovely chap and once you get to know him, he’ll be ever so helpful.” While there were no introductions, Dunhill pointed out Neil’s house to Arry. A maroon house, not too far from Emma’s, with large metal bottles and unopened wooden boxes, was the destination of Dunhill’s wrinkled fingers. “Now, we’ll show you the farm your parents have left you. Emma helped me fix it up but there are still some things to be worked out.”

A pang attacked Arry’s heart. She didn’t expect to have them adjust the house. She just thought she would be given the mess and expected to fix everything herself. Before Dunhill could tell her anymore, she heard a car screech.

“Hossan?” In the car, a biggish man looked shocked. Arry wondered if it was because he’d been caught. Inside the black car, she spotted a miniature version of the man. It didn’t take much to figure out they were father and son.

“I’m sorry, Dunhill. We can’t stay here any longer. There’s no business and we just can’t carry on. I hope you understand, old friend.” Arry watched as Dunhill’s mouth turned down slightly, and how his eyes became slightly glazed.

“Of course, Hossan. I wish you the best of luck wherever you go, and please don’t forget about Echo Falls.” Feeling like an intruder to this tender exchange, Arry turned away and pretended not to eavesdrop. Dunhill’s expectations were too high – he couldn’t really expect her to help turn the village into something that thrived, could he? People were already leaving. What exactly could she offer to bring them back?

“I’m ever so sorry about that. The economy isn’t exactly great at the moment. But with you being on the farm, you’ll increase our wealth!” The optimism in his voice made it even worse for Arry, but she hadn’t the heart to tell him anything.

He led her down a path, the one where she noticed a large field, and her face lit up when he showed her where she would live. It was more than she expected. More than she could ever want. A small bungalow stood in front of her, gleaming in the spring sunlight. Behind it were an army of trees. There was litter all around the field but she had her own barn (bright red, like she’d expected), and someone had created some fields for her to… do something farmer-ish with.

“Oh… I… I don’t know what to say.” No words came to mind. How could she thank Dunhill and Emma for what they’d done for her? They didn’t even know her, yet they’d created a loving home for her. The guilt was too much, she had to say something! “I don’t know if I can meet your expectations. I mean… I can’t bring back an entire town!”  
“Oh, don’t you worry, Arry.” Dunhill said nothing more on the subject. It caused more worry for Arry – what would happen if she didn’t turn out to be great at farming? What if she couldn’t be the person they wanted her for? Why did her father have to send her here, of all places! “I’ll leave you to get settled in. There’s not much electricity or water but there are some people coming tomorrow to fix all that. On the phone, your father said he would pay for the rest of it to be fixed up and send you some money but apart from that, you’ll have to learn the rest.”

“I know. He mentioned that I would have to learn everything myself.” She sighed, wishing that she could get some help.

“You’ve got us villagers to help. We might not be much help, but it’s better than nothing. Anyway, have a good night.” Dunhill waved goodbye, and Arry returned it. She turned back to look at her house. Her house. It wasn’t her parents, but her own. It felt odd to say it, but she was proud. Then she realised a fatal flaw in this plan. How was she supposed to get in? Dunhill hadn’t left a key!

Grabbing her things, she made a step to chase after him but fought against the urge. She remembered Dunhill trying to open Emma’s house which meant that most people didn’t lock their doors. It was weird, but then again, everyone here seemed to be close so there was trust. And if there was trust, why lock the doors? Hoping she was right, she marched up to the door, and pushed down the handle, and pushed the door. It didn’t resist. Success!

Inside was more amazing. She hadn’t expected them to furnish her house but there it was. Furniture. It wasn’t a lot, but it was good enough. The house was open spaced, save for one room (which she guessed was the bathroom). A single bed was across the room, a nightstand and lamp next to it. The kitchen was on the left, a fridge by the wall and in front was a long counter, with a sink built in. On the right was a square dining room table, with four chairs. Two chairs opposing the other two. There was a bookcase and a small sofa, and a chest, which had a large present on top.

Taking her bags to the back of the room, she dumped them on her bed. Her body was used to stretching out on a double bed, but something told her she wouldn’t be lounging about all day. She needed to get used to the rural life, and fast.

She then tried to lift the present but found it was too heavy for her. Her eyebrows knitted together, and instead of attempting to lift again, she started to rip into the present.

“Oh.” Was her reaction. She’d been left a toolbox. It was official: she was to become a farmer. She had no idea how to use them, but it couldn’t be that difficult… could it?


End file.
